Romeo And Juliet Power And Authority Analysis

Authority is the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience. Authority, can affect relationships between people and the outcome of situations. One’s relentless strive for authority and the greed for power can overwhelm a character. In Act 1, the loss and gain of authority, and the resulting consequences characters suffer when there is a struggle for authority is discussed. Through Prospero’s grand authority and the lack of authority of Antonio, it can be said authority is not gained by strength, inheritance, or greed but knowledge.

Knowledge contributes to the amount of power and authority one owns. Antonio usurps Prospero to claim authority, as he was “so dry for he was for sway”. Metaphorically, Prospero talks
Contrastingly, Boatswain mentions “None that I more love than myself”, rejecting Antonio’s claim of authority and fails to obey him as the Duke of Milan. Ironically, the boat holds not just Duke of Milan but the King of Naples Alonso, but their authority is invalid due to the lack of obedience, and lack of decision making, this is due to their lack of knowledge. Boatswain commands, to “Blow, till thou burst thy wind”, to the soldiers. Symbolising the power and authority of Prospero through the controlling of the ‘tempest’ itself and the Boatswain. The storm also symbolised the lack of authority Antonio has compared to Prospero. Prospero holds knowledge on the ‘secret arts’ and Boatswain on the function of the ‘sails’, therefore both have major authority. Gonzalo respects the great chain of being, which is in order of greatest knowledge and authority beginning with God to earth. Gonzalo exaggerates that he “would…give a thousand furlongs of sea
Caliban being the native, rightly should be able to claim the “island’s mine”, however due to the power and knowledge of Prospero he was able to “takest from” him. Caliban realises “I must obey. His art of such power”, further represents and alludes to the power and authority of Prospero. Likewise, Prospero holds great control over the spirit Ariel, as it metaphorically states it “will be correspondent to command”. Prospero has authority over Ariel due the debt Ariel is in for ‘liberty’. Similarly, in the age of exploration major countries colonised other countries where they held far superior knowledge to the natives. At times, colonisers reasoned their invasion under giving “words to the wordless”, but Caliban hopes with the personification that “the red plague rid you (Miranda)/ For learning me your language”, as he recognises the truth and the savageness of the colonisers. Therefore, it can be said authority is not gained by strength or inheritance, but